Militant Cited For Driving Without License After Van Overturns

At about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Oregon State Police found a white Ford Van on its side, 150 feet off the roadway in Hines, Oregon, a small community next to Burns.

According to the incident report, troopers found 57-year-old Darrow Burke inside the van. He went too fast around a 25 MPH corner and flipped the van on the icy roads. The crash destroyed a barbed wire fence.

Meanwhile, the state police Twitter feed blamed icy roads for the accident.

Burke is a militant who has occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

He began supporting Ammon Bundy and the subsequent occupation back in November 2015. OPB confirmed that his van was at the compound earlier this week.

Burke lives in Ukiah, California, and was cited for driving without a license.

“Oregon only cites for No Operator’s License, we do not arrest,” said State Police Spokesman Bill Fugate. He declined to offer any other comments related to the crash or occupation.

Occupier spokesperson LaVoy Finnicum had not heard about the accident.

“Don’t know the name, sorry,” he said. “There are a lot of people coming and going.”

Local residents have told OPB that the county has stopped plowing and de-icing roads in some areas since militants took the refuge, although county officials haven’t confirmed whether maintenance has changed.